'Read this ad with your nose': The state of scent marketing

At first glance, a series of unbranded red and yellow billboards popping up on the streets of Utrecht and Leiden in the Netherlands could easily be missed. To the eyes they were plain and unremarkable. But passers-by quickly began to smell that something was up. 

 

These were no ordinary billboards. They were the world's first scented billboards that smelt like McDonald's french fries. A tray of fries was inserted into each of the billboards which had ventilators to suck and diffuse the aroma within a 15-foot distance.

 

"We decided to break with tradition and opt for a scent campaign because the smell of McDonald’s is an iconic asset, as recognisable as their products, the Golden Arches, or th jingle," says Darre van Dijk, chief creative office at TBWA/Neboko. "By making the scent the centre of the ad, we’re entertaining people and capturing their attention in an innovative way."

 

The scented billboards were strategically placed within 200 metres of McDonalds restaurants and proved to be good for business.

 

"We captured bystanders walking in front of the billboard, and most of them recognised the iconic fries smell. Some even turned around to visit the nearest McDonald’s," adds van Dijk. 

 

The success of the campaign was evident as the video documenting the activation went viral and was featured in over 300 news items globally. It proved that despite smell seldom being used in advertising, it is in fact the most primal sense and the one that leaves the biggest memory imprint.

 

 

According to a study by the Sense of Smell Institute, humans can only remember 50% of visual images after just three months, while after a year, they can recall 65% of smells. Smell actually accounts for 75% of all the emotions that we experience on a daily basis. For this reason, we are 100 times more likely to remember something we smell than anything we see, hear, or touch. As a result, more brands are realising that appealing to senses other than the visual may effectively engage customers and help brands connect with them.

 

Additionally, scent can improve purchasing intent. In one study, Alan Hirsch of the Smell and Taste Research Foundation put two identical Nike running shoes in two different, identical rooms, with one pair having a scent and the other not. In the scented room, customers were 84% more likely to purchase shoes.

 

"Scent has become an increasingly important part of the marketing mix," says Caroline Fabrigas, CEO of Scent Marketing. "Brands and companies are realising that scent is one of the most powerful ways to differentiate, inspire memory, enhance the brand experience and spur sales."

 

The nose for a great ad

 

Much like the McDonald's billboards that smelt like fries, more and more brands are experimenting with scent in their campaigns to stimulate our most powerful sense and drive impressive results. 

 

Swiggy Instamart, India's quick commerce delivery platform, greeted readers across Mumbai last month with a mango-scented front-page newspaper ad on Times of India. The ad featured striking pictures of mangoes and the words 'Read this ad with your nose' in the copy. 

 

 

"Mangoes make summer bearable for us in India," says Mayur Hola, vice president of brands at Swiggy. "Often crates of mangoes enter our homes with newspapers used to line the crates and protect the king of fruits from bruising and the aroma of mangoes seeps into the crate, the paper et al. The idea of bringing that aroma via newsprint to homes was nostalgic and heady and so the team found a way to make it happen."

 

The Times of India distributed about 800,000 copies of the special edition throughout Mumbai, where the jacket ads on pages one and two were mango-scented. The ad was a huge hit and resulted in an over 2x jump in mango sales along with a sizeable traffic bump.

 

"We had an all-time high impact on mango sales in Mumbai," says Hola. "And the reaction was a direct reaction to folks finding the scent of mangoes all over their home."

 

But as much as the use of scent can boost everything from brand recall to sales, there are specific challenges that can make the use of scent more difficult to execute. 

 

"It takes budget, time and effort to get it right with organic scents in particular," says Hola. "Getting the scent right on mass-media newsprint is especially tricky. Unlike peel-off strips, you have to find a way to get the scent into the ink and that itself causes issues with two scents intermingling. At its worst, it can be offensive. So, we had to work at getting the balance right, because you don't mess with a beloved fruit and its nostalgic aroma."

 

Signature scents

 

Increasingly brands ranging from retail stores to hotel chains and even banks are hiring firms to create a signature scent that customers won't forget.

 

Our limbic system, which controls memory and emotions, is directly connected to our sense of smell. Using a pleasing scent in retail spaces can make a brand stand out in a crowded market and affect consumers' perceptions of it. Numerous brands from Abercrombie & Fitch, Singapore Airlines, Westin Hotels and even Starbucks have all created their own scent and use it as a powerful tool to give their customers immersive, unforgettable experiences.

 

"More and more brands are developing custom scents," says Fabrigas. "The custom scent development process is an amazing journey. We have a propriety process that collates brand values and cues to the ideal aroma that becomes endemic to the brand."

 

 

Rachel Arndt, senior director of Mintel Consulting says that while we are seeing more brands developing signature scents, that may be more a sign of the power of fads than of the power of olfactory recognition, at least in marketing.

 

"Scent is certainly popping up more in marketing. Like any gimmick, it gets attention at least for a time. While that may seem convenient for marketing campaigns intended to get consumers to pay attention, it could easily backfire, with consumers turning up their noses at branded scents that linger a bit too long," says Arndt.

 

What's more, scent doesn't typically lend itself as well to metaphor as visuals and sounds do. "Scent for McDonald's trying to convey the idea of deliciousness? That's a cinch. For a bank trying to convey the idea of credit-worthiness? That's a lot trickier," adds Arndt. 

 

So, it really is brand-specific. And getting the scent right can be a fine art. 

 

"Finding a partner who can create a high-quality scent is difficult because most companies that could deploy the scents work with a library of scents that they had produced at a very low price point so the materials and quality of the composition are not the highest," says Olivia Jezler, founder of the Future of Smell. "When this kind of scent is used it could diminish the quality of the experience."

 

Are brands missing out by not utilising scent?

 

Studies show that scent helps people linger longer in stores, heightens the perception of the quality of products and people are willing to spend more money on the same purchases. However, compared to visuals and sound, scent is still underused by brands in their campaigns. 

 

"Brands are missing out by not utilising scent more in their campaigns," says Jezler. "When all senses work together to convey the same message, a message is more impactful and memorable to a consumer. This is especially important today when there is so much choice."

 

But while the power of scent to enhance brand perception, provoke memory and value and to inspire sales is increasingly becoming a key part of the marketing mix, there are still limitations that can make using scent more of a challenge. 

 

"Brands can run visual ads almost anywhere and sonic ads on most screens. But scented marketing can happen only in a physical place and, ideally, one where consumers appreciate, rather than just accept, the aroma," says Arndt. "Given the challenges of scent, brands should consider whether the scent-driven spike in conversation is worth the effort. If they do decide to pursue scent, they might be better off using it to round out an experience rather than to anchor one."